We had a WONDERFUL stay at Chuck & LaVerne's in Stockton, NY. THANK-YOU AGAIN!
So - Sunday we headed out at 7:30 and drove over 500 miles to Chicago. David's cousin John, his wife and their 3 kids live in a suburb West of the city called Winfield.
The traffic was UNBELIEVABLE for 3:30 on a Sunday afternoon. OMG - I couldn't do this on a daily basis. Guess that's why I avoid Wolf Road and the malls... We did fine. There was construction for MILES - but we didn't get lost - and arrived about when I had hoped.
Oh - the COOLEST thing. My EZ-Pass works almost everywhere - but OHIO! Here in Illinois it is called I-pass. (In Indiana they call it I-zoom - I don't understand that - seems like begging for people to get speeding tickets - anyway! Esp when the legal limit is 70mph) So - we went thru the $$ lane - and the woman said, lady - you HAVE I-pass. I said - well, I"m from NY and I didn't know it would work here. Will it work at ALL I-pass stations. "Yes Ma'am".
OH - and at my last fill-up Sally Brown produced a whopping 41.4 mpg. LOVE that! Gas was $3.27 in Indiana. LOVE that too! Some places in Illinois it was $3.69 - I'll pass on that.
So - when I got closer to the city I took the FAST lane. Let me tell you - it was fast. You don't even have to slow down. Just go whipping under this bridge like thing full of I-pass detectors and it's fine. NO green lights "EZ-PASS GO" just whip thru. AMAZING! Must be a mess at rush hour..
Well - when we got to John & Lisa's the kids immediately bonded with their 2nd cousins. Ingrid and Ben started playing baseball, and Grace & Sammy (Samantha) started doing what 7-yr old girls do in their room. Sammy came out dressed like a gorilla. LOVE THAT! So - they were a match made in heaven. Maisie is a DOLL - 3-yrs old. She is just too cute. Everyone played like crazy and we had a terrific dinner - with 8 people round the table. THANKS LISA!
Everyone slept great. The kids and I shared Ben's bunk bed. Double on the bottom and Ingrid on the top. We'll trade tonight!! Their cousins went off to school and we slept in - LOVELY! Today we plan to go to the Chicago Zoo with Lisa and Maisie. It is a beautiful day and it actually seems like spring. BRING IT ON!
Tomorrow (Tuesday) we head to Kansas City. I'm hoping to leave very early and we'll look at some maps to figure out how I can avoid the rush hour traffic. I'd rather take a back road for a bit and head West away from the city before finding I-80 en-route to I-35 ==>KC - than get in an hour long wait somewhere East of here... My mother has no computer - so my next post will be a bit less "prompt". Thanks for your e-mails - - nice to know we're missed.
bye - and hoping for some pictures eventually too!!!
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